Make Your Summer Lemonade With Filtered Water

Have you ever reached for a glass of lemonade after being out in the hot summer sun, only to find that it tastes funky? No, it’s not the lemonade mix or the fresh lemons, it’s your water, yes, residential plumbing can affect your drinks! If you don’t filter your water before you drink it, you’ll end up with lots of particles and contaminants that affect the taste of your beverages.

In this article, we’ll teach you about water softeners, whole house filtration systems, and UV water filters. Each of these filtration systems can clean different things out of your water so that your lemonade tastes delicious this summer.

What Does a Water Softener Do?

Have you ever heard someone describe water as “hard?” Water’s hardness refers to the amount of positively charged minerals in it, usually calcium and magnesium.

The more minerals there are in your water, the harder it is. Hard water leaves scale on surfaces and inside pipes and appliances, so it wears them out quicker.

It’s also not great for your hair and skin because the minerals make it difficult for soaps and detergents to dissolve. Undissolved soaps linger on your skin and make you itch, and detergents stick around in your clothes and on your dishes. A water softener uses rock salt, solar salt, or evaporated salt to remove the ions that make water hard.

Water softeners are great for your body because soaps rinse clean, leaving your hair soft and your skin less itchy. They’re also great for your dishes and surfaces because the water leaves a lot less buildup. Softened water is perfectly safe to drink and will make your coffee, tea, lemonade, and ice water taste more delicious.

What is a Whole House Water Filter?

You’ve probably seen advertisements for filtered water pitchers or under-sink filters, but have you ever heard of a whole house water filter? It functions the same as a pitcher or faucet filter, except it filters water at the point of entry to your home.

One of the main substances that a water filter catches is chlorine. Many wastewater treatment plants use chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses in the water, but they don’t filter it back out. Chlorine can affect the taste of your water, and it’s also unhealthy for you to ingest.

Like ionized minerals, chlorine can make your skin itch and your hair dry. If you filter all of the water that enters your house, your shower, laundry, and dishwater will all have fewer chemicals and particulates. Filtering your drinking water is a good start, but filtering your whole house is even better.

Is UV Water Filtration Safe?

Ultraviolet, or UV, light is the same type of light that burns your skin if you forget your sunscreen, so you might be wondering if it’s okay to expose your drinking water to UV light.

UV light refers to a specific wavelength of light, none of which lingers in your water, so it’s perfectly harmless to drink. In fact, UV light kills nearly all microorganisms to make your drinking water even safer.

UV filtration is environmentally friendly because it uses no chemicals, it’s affordable, it’s quick, and it doesn’t leave a lingering taste in your water like chlorine. The only downside of UV filtration is that it does not filter out any particles like heavy metals, trace pharmaceuticals, or pesticides. However, it will kill meningitis, E. coli, salmonella, and other viruses and bacteria.

If you have a small home, UV filtration at your faucet is an excellent option. It’s possible to install a whole house UV system, but you’d also have to decontaminate your pipes fully, or the UV filter will be useless. If you don’t want that expense, you can use UV filters at the faucet to still reap the benefits without the extra pipe cleaning.

A UV filtration system works best in conjunction with other filtration systems. Carbon and sediment filters do not kill bacteria, and UV filtration does not remove particulates, but together, they clean your water thoroughly for the best possible taste.

Which Filtration System is Right for You?

If your water isn’t tasting as delicious as you’d like or you’re not sure which filtration system is right for your house, schedule a consultation today. At Jim Wagner Plumbing Inc., we work with you and your home needs to find the ideal solution. Whether it’s a water softener, whole-home filtration system, or something else, our plumbers have you covered.